SYPA carried out this review as part of its work to adopt the Good Governance recommendations set out by Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board in 2021. 

Aon’s overall conclusion is that “the governance of SYPA is of an excellent standard” and that the Authority is “demonstrating best practice in a number of areas”. Interestingly in the context of the debate that is currently taking place over the consolidation of LGPS funds Aon conclude “the governance of the SYPA is of much higher quality than the majority of other LGPS funds, and we believe much of this is driven by the fact that the organisation is a single purpose Local Authority.”

Aon make a number of recommendations for further improvements, including:

• Updating the terms of reference of the Authority’s various committees and the structure of agendas to ensure that time is being focussed on all of the most important areas where it is important that Authority members gain assurance.
• As part of ongoing work on the Performance Management Framework to ensure that all statutory timescales are being monitored and reported on (this does not imply such timescales are not being met at present).
• Take further steps to support the development pf knowledge and understanding of Authority and Local Pension Board members.
• Finalise the work currently ongoing to develop a more comprehensive business continuity plan. 

SYPA Chair, Councillor Jayne Dunn, responding to the review said:

“Opening ourselves up to independent assessment and challenge is an important part of living our organisational values of being honest and accountable. It is gratifying to see the extremely positive assessment from Aon but we will not be resting on our laurels and will be looking to strengthen our arrangements further in the years ahead.”

A working group of members of the Pensions Authority and the Local Pension Board will work with the Authority’s officers to develop an action plan to address the review’s recommendations which will be presented to the Authority for approval in the autumn.